Preserving Calle 24

The SF Chronicle writes about the preservation of 24th Street’s Latino character, which Erick Arguello and others have been working on for some time. Today, the Board of Supervisors will take up the issue.

In the coming months, Calle 24, the merchants and residents association headed by Arguello, will host a series of meetings to gauge what the community wants to see happen in the area, whether it be protecting its famous murals, encouraging more public art, ensuring Latino-owned businesses maintain a presence, or building more affordable housing.

The San Francisco Latino Historical Society and San Francisco Heritage are also working on two projects to document San Francisco’s Latino history, including the creation of the first citywide Latino historic context statement. That statement, “Nuestra Historia: Documenting the Chicano, Latino, and Indígena Contribution to the Development of San Francisco,” will not only document the city’s physical and cultural Latino history but also offer recommendations on how to preserve it. It is being funded by the city’s Historic Preservation Fund Committee.

Another project, Calle 24: Cuentos del Barrio, is a walking tour of the 24th Street area based on oral histories collected by high school and college students completed over the past year. READ MORE.

It is sad that it’s gotten to the point where Latino culture in the Mission is being marked as in historical terms. Like Japan Town and the Fillmore before it, economic forces level yet another community and then erect experience monuments to them.

Making calle 24 a historic/preservation zone, protecting murals, cultural institutions, etc. will only serve to restrict development, and consequently increase the values of existing properties in the area. I’m all for it. Cha-ching!